How to Repurpose a Cabinet Door to Add More Depth and Interest to Framed Art

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Hey friends! It’s Thrifty Style Team time! Thrifty Style Team is a group of uber-talented ladies who get together once a month to bring you thrifty DIY projects and decor inspiration that won’t break the bank! Thrifty Style Team is hosted by my super-talented friend Julie at Redhead Can Decorate!

This month I’m sharing how to repurpose a cabinet door to add more depth and interest to framed art.

This project was inspired when I was trying to decorate the space on either side of my chalkboard in my entryway. I’ve had the chalkboard here for a couple of years now. In that time I’ve hung various decor here but nothing really worked well. Finally I tried hanging a couple of 8 X 10 inch framed art here, and although it looked okay, I still wasn’t totally in love with it.

Then I remembered my bonepile of kitchen cabinet doors that I got from the Habitat For Humanity ReStore. I dug through the pile in the hopes that I could find a couple of cabinet doors that were the same size, big enough to fit two 8 x 10 inch frames on each one, and fit in the space on either side of my chalkboard. There is a light plate switch on the lower right side of the chalkboard that I have to work around so I had to take that in account too.

Eureka! I found a pair of cabinet doors that fit all the criteria! I got to work cleaning them up with Krud Cutter Prepaint Cleaner. It is an effective prepaint cleaner, especially considering that it has no harsh chemicals like a lot of other prepaint cleaners. I love that I can use it inside our house without gassing myself, my hubs and all our cats out of the house!

I decided I wanted to repaint the doors with a crackle effect, so after cleaning them I applying one coat of FolkArt Home Decor Crackle Medium using a paint brush and allowed it dry thoroughly. I like this crackle medium because it has to dry first before you can paint over it. Some other crackle mediums have to be wet or damp when you paint over them in order for them to work and because of that they can be challenging to work with.

One the crackle medium was dry, I applied one coat of Rust-Oleum Chalked Paint in Linen White using a paint brush, working quickly and being careful not to over stroke so I didn’t pull the crackle medium up. Even though dry crackle medium is easier to work with than the wet one in my opinion, it still can be a bit challenging. If you have never used crackle medium before, I suggest you practice on something first that you don’t care about messing up to get the hang of it before you use it on a project piece.

I allowed the paint to thoroughly dry and it cracked beautifully! I finished the doors by applying one coat of Rust-Oleum Chalked Protective Topcoat in Matte Clear using a paint brush, allowed it to dry thoroughly and then applied a light coat of Rust-Oleum Chalked Aged Glaze using a paint brush and wiping off any excess with a soft cotton rag.

Once the cabinet doors were completely dry, I flipped them over and attached saw tooth picture hangers that I got in this kit on the back.

I flipped the cabinet doors back over, lined up the empty 8 x 10 inch frames and hammered a nail where the frames would hang on the door. It was a lot easier to do this while the doors were still on the table than trying to do it once I had them hung up.

Once I had where the picture frames would hang squared away, I framed the botanical art prints I got from Amazon and hung everything up.

I am totally in love with the way they turned out and love how they look hanging on the sides of my chalkboard!

That’s it for my tutorial on how to repurpose a cabinet door to add more depth and interest to framed art! I hope you enjoyed it, and if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave them in the comments section below!

Here’s the this month’s entire lineup of great thrifty DIY projects and decor inspiration from the rest of the talented ladies of the Thrifty Style Team!

Until next time!